The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is the replacement of the Emergency Broadcast System. EAS can rapidly disseminate emergency information to the general public at the request of Local, State, and Federal Officials. The Local EAS may be activated in response to emergency situations such as severe weather, floods, civil disorders, industrial accidents, or any occurrence that poses a danger to life or property. The purpose of this plan is to explain the system and provide procedures for broadcasters, cable operators, and emergency managers in the San Antonio Operational Area.

II. AUTHORITY

This plan is developed under the authority of Title 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), 303 (r), 524 (g) and 606; 47 C.F.R. Part 11, FCC Rules and Regulations; Part 73, Subpart G, of the Federal Communication Commission Rules and Regulations as it pertains to local operational use of the Emergency Alert System.

Effective December 31, 1998, EAS rules and regulations applied to all AM and FM radio stations, Class D FM radio stations, television stations, low power television (LPTV) stations, and wired cable systems with 10,000 or more subscribers.

Effective October 1, 2002, EAS rules and regulations will also apply to wired or wireless cable systems with 5,000 or more subscribers. Effective October 1, 2002, cable systems with less than 5,000 subscribers may transmit EAS messages on only one channel, provided the cable system transmits a video interruption and audio alert message on all channels stating which one channel will carry the complete EAS message.

III. EXPLAINATION OF EAS EQUIPMENT

A. EAS Encoder / Decoders

All broadcast stations and cable systems (with 10,000 or more subscribers) are required to have an FCC-approved EAS Encoder/Decoder. The Encoder/Decoder is capable of transmitting and receiving digitally coded emergency messages. Each Encoder/Decoder is assigned to monitor at least two different sources for incoming emergency messages.

B.EAS Header Codes

All EAS messages must be preceded by a Header Code of high-speed digital data identifying the following:

Individual EAS Decoders can be configured to filter the header code data and activate only for specific emergencies in designated geographical areas. Detailed information about the format of EAS messages is covered in Appendix A.

C. Modes of Operation

EAS Decoders must be capable of at least Manual and Automatic modes of operation. Some manufacturers also offer a Semi-Automatic Mode. Here is a brief explanation of each mode.

1. Manual Mode: The EAS Decoder will only notify the operator on duty of any incoming EAS Alert that it is programmed to receive. The operator must push a button to transmit the Alert on a broadcast station or cable system.

2. Automatic Mode: The EAS Decoder will automatically interrupt program audio and/or video with any incoming EAS Alerts the Decoder is programmed to receive. Emergency information will be disseminated even if the station or system is not staffed full time.

3. Semi-Automatic Mode: When the EAS Decoder receives an EAS Alert that it is programmed to respond to, it will begin a preset countdown to automatically interrupt. If the Alert does not air by the time the countdown expires, the EAS decoder will automatically interrupt the audio and/or video with the incoming message.

EAS Decoders can be programmed to respond to different Alerts in different modes. Some examples: the Decoder could respond to all weather watches in Manual Mode and all weather warnings in Automatic Mode. The Decoder could be programmed to respond to the Required Monthly Test (RMT) in Semi-Automatic mode. Since the RMT must be retransmitted within one hour of receipt, the Decoder would automatically run the RMT if an operator does not manually respond within the required time limit.

IV. EAS PARTICIPATION AND PRIORITIES

A. Summary of National EAS Plan

The primary purpose of EAS is to enable the President of the United States to speak directly to the country in times of national disaster through automatic access to the nation’s broadcast outlets and cable systems. A presidential activation is called an Emergency Action Notification (EAN). The communication path from the White House to the local broadcast and cable outlets is accomplished through a web of communication links.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maintains dedicated phone lines from the White House to Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations distributed across the country. National activations in Texas are disseminated from two PEP stations, KTRH-AM 740 in Houston and WBAP-AM 820 in Fort Worth.

The PEP stations broadcast the message to their own operational areas in addition to three other State Relay (SR) entities – WOAI-AM 1200 in San Antonio, the Texas State Networks in Dallas, and the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels.

The Local Primary (LP) stations across the state would receive the national emergency message from a State Relay (SR) and/or a National Weather Service station. All other broadcast stations and cable operators are assigned to monitor a Local Primary station and/or one of the National Weather Service offices and/or other state relay entities.

Upon receipt of a National level EAN message, all Participating National (PN) radio and television stations and cable systems are required to interrupt programming and transmit the national emergency message.

Any station with a Non-Participating National (NN) authorization must sign-off the air for the duration of the Emergency Action Notification message.

During a National-level EAS, the EAS Local Plan may also be activated if a local emergency arises.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management (DPS/DEM) will disseminate state emergency messages upon request of the Governor or other authorized state officials by phone or fax to State Relay (SR) points.

The five State Relay points in Texas are KTRH-AM 740 in Houston, WBAP-AM 820 in Fort Worth, WOAI-AM 1200 in San Antonio, the Texas State Network, and the Austin/San Antonio Office of the National Weather Service located in New Braunfels, (which will relay state emergency messages to all National Weather Service offices serving any Texas counties).

All broadcast stations and cable systems in Texas are required to monitor their closest State Relay station. It is requested that State EAS messages are rebroadcast within five (5) minutes of receipt.

A current copy of the Texas EAS Plan is available from the Chair of the Texas State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC), c/o Texas Association of Broadcasters, 502 East 11th Street, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78701. Texas EAS information is available by telephone (512-322-9944), fax (512-322-0522), on-line (www.tab.org), or e-mail (ann@tab.org)

C. EAS Priorities

EAS Priorities as set forth in Section 11.44(b) of the FCC Rules are as follows:

1. National EAS Messages

2. Local Area EAS Messages

3. State EAS Messages

4. Messages from the National Information Center (NIC)

NIC messages will typically follow a National EAS Activation with additional information. Any NIC Messages received from national networks that are not broadcast at the time of original transmission must be recorded locally by LP sources for transmission at the earliest opportunity.

D. Counties within the San Antonio Operational Area

The San Antonio Operational Area is defined in Appendix D of the Texas EAS Plan. It is one of 25 Local Operational Areas in the State. The San Antonio Local Operational Area includes the following 16 Texas counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dimmit, Frio, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Real, Uvalde, Wilson, and Zavala. A list of EAS location codes for each county is included in Appendix A of the San Antonio Local Area Plan.

E. Voluntary Participation by Broadcast Stations and Cable Systems

All broadcasters (including AM and FM radio stations, television stations, and low power television stations) and all wired cable systems with more than 10,000 subscribers operators are required under FCC rules and regulations to transmit all EAS tests and national emergency messages. Under the FCC’s First Report and Order, broadcasters and cable operators may be asked by the FCC or San Antonio Local Emergency Communications Committee to indicate in advance whether they intend to voluntarily transmit or rebroadcast state and/or local emergency messages.

Each station and cable system is responsible for deciding the types (event codes) of emergency messages that will be broadcast, what counties (locations) those emergency messages will cover, and if their EAS Decoder will manually or automatically relay Local, State, or National EAS messages.

F. Conditions of EAS Participation

Acceptance of/or participation in the San Antonio Local Area Plan shall not be deemed as a relinquishment of program control. A broadcast licensee or cable operator shall not be prohibited from exercising independent discretion and responsibility in any given situation. The concept of management of each broadcast station and cable system to exercise discretion regarding the transmission of emergency information and instructions to the general public is provided by FCC Rules and Regulations, Part 11. Broadcast stations and cable systems originating EAS emergency communications shall be deemed to have conferred rebroadcast authority as specified in Section 11.54(d).

G. EAS Promotional and Public Service Announcements

Broadcasters and cable operators that voluntarily follow the recommended procedures of the Local Area Plan may identify themselves as a “Local Participant in the Emergency Alert System for the San Antonio Operational Area” in EAS tests, public service announcements, and other promotional materials.

Under Part 11.46 of the FCC rules and regulations, broadcasters and cable operators may use public service announcements or obtain commercial sponsors for announcements, infomercials, or programs explaining EAS to the public. Such announcements and programs may not be a part of alerts or tests, and may not simulate or attempt to copy alert tones or codes.

V. MONITORING AND RE-BROADCAST

A. Designation of Local Primary Sources

1. LOCAL PRIMARY (LP-1):WOAI-AM 1200

LOCATION: 6222 NW IH 10, San Antonio, TX 78201

MONITORING ASSIGNMENTS: KTRH-AM 740

NOAA Weather Radio or Weather Wire

Texas State Network (Channel 1 or A-Left)

KKYX-AM 680

STATION CONTACT: Dan Walthers, Chief Engineer

Main Line: 210-736-9700

CONTACT METHOD: FAX 210-734-6464

Direct Line 210-736-9740

(For Activations Only)

2. LOCAL PRIMARY (LP-2):KKYX-AM 680

LOCATION: 8122 Datapoint, San Antonio, TX 78229

MONITORING ASSIGNMENTS: WOAI-AM 1200

NOAA Weather Radio or Weather Wire

STATION CONTACT: Paul Reynolds, Chief Engineer

Main Line: 210-615-5400

CONTACT METHOD: FAX: 210-615-5320

Direct Line 210-615-5471 or

210-615-5470 or

210-615-5472 or

210-615-5473

B. Responsibilities of Local Primary Stations

In consideration of this designation, the Local Primary Station agree to:

2. Install an EAS Decoder capable of receiving all 3 of its Monitoring Assignments

3. Install an EAS Encoder capable of alerting all 16 counties for all EAS event codes

4. Install a direct telephone line answered 24-hours by a trained operator on duty

5. Follow the established call back and code word system to authenticate telephone requests for activation

The LP-1 and LP-2 stations agree to broadcast all local and state EAS messages with the proper SAME header code within five (5) minutes of receipt.

C. Monitoring Assignments

All broadcast and cable systems serving any portion of the San Antonio Operational Area must monitor the LP-1 (WOAI-AM 1200) and/or LP-2 (KKYX-AM 680) sources as their primary and secondary monitoring assignments.

It is strongly recommended that all stations add a NOAA weather radio receiver as an additional input to their EAS Decoder.

D. Rebroadcast of EAS messages

Local Primary sources transmitting EAS messages shall be deemed to have conferred authority for rebroadcast by other broadcast stations and cable operators serving the San Antonio Area.

All other broadcasters and cable systems are encouraged to rebroadcast the audio portion of the EAS message received from a Local Primary source, or use their own on-air staff to repeat or summarize the EAS message following the same format for Local EAS Messages in Section VII-B. The on-air staff should be careful that they broadcast only the audio (verbal) portion of the EAS message. They should not precede the audio with the EAS digital codes. Use of the 8-second Attention Signal is optional for rebroadcast of Local EAS Messages.

Broadcasters and cable operators are encouraged to set their EAS Encoder/Decoders to either automatic or semi-automatic mode in order to rebroadcast Local EAS messages within five (5) minutes of receipt.

E.Event Code Recommendations

The San Antonio Local Plan recommends that all EAS Encoder/Decoders should be programmed to rebroadcast Local EAS messages with any of the Event Codes, listed in Appendix A, that affect the specific counties within the station’s coverage area or cable system’s franchise area.

F. Video Text or Crawl

Under the FCC’s Second Report and Order, television stations and cable systems serving 10,000 or more subscribers are required to provide both audio and video versions of national EAS messages and all EAS tests on all programmed channels to ensure EAS messages are accessible to all viewers, especially those with hearing disabilities.

For State and Local EAS messages, television stations and cable systems are encouraged to provide a full-screen text summary or video crawl summarizing the EAS message, including the originator, event, location, and valid time period of the message. Any video crawl must be displayed at the top of the screen or another location in order to prevent interference with any closed captioning system or character-generated supers. Spanish-language television stations can display its text summary or video crawl in either Spanish or English.

VI. ACTIVATION CRITERIA

A. Guidance for Emergency Management Personnel

The Emergency Alert System is designed for the rapid dissemination of news and official information during emergency situations. Civil Authorities have acquired a valuable tool that provides direct access to area broadcasters and cable operators. Use of the EAS must be reserved for catastrophic situations when time is of the essence to prevent the loss of lives or property.

The decision to activate the EAS rests with Emergency Management Personnel. Some broadcasters and cable operators will have the EAS equipment operating in the Automatic Mode that pass through any messages without any pre-screening. Facilities that operate in Automatic Mode depend on Civil Authorities to carefully determine if situation warrants EAS activation. All broadcasters and cable operators participate on a voluntary basis in the local-level EAS. Broadcasters and cable systems will continue participate in the San Antonio Local Area Plan only if there is judicious use of EAS activations.

B. Definition of an Emergency

The FCC defines an emergency as a “situation posing an extraordinary threat to the safety of life and property.” The following list is intended for guidance only and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Some examples include:

Requests for local activation of the Emergency Alert System should be limited to an emergency event or situation which:

1. Poses an immediate or imminent threat to life or property,

2. Has the potential to adversely impact a significant population or geographic area,

3. Requires immediate public knowledge to seek shelter or take protective action and other means of disseminating information are inadequate to ensure rapid delivery of the information.

The media and public should be informed through other methods for non-emergency events that do not meet the above criteria. Examples include, but are not limited to, school or business closings, ozone alerts, pollen reports, water rationing, and prohibitions on outdoor burning.

The San Antonio Local Area Plan allows an exception to the above criteria for the Amber Plan. Local Primary stations are authorized to disseminate alerts and updates concerning abducted children, subject to terms of an LECC-approved Amber Plan (see AppendixD). Broadcasters and cable operators are encouraged to re-broadcast such Amber alerts and updates.

`D. Follow-Up Activations

Due to the automated nature of the EAS system, activation will result in a single broadcast. The same information will not be repeated at specified intervals. After the initial EAS activation, further information will be considered a news item to be covered by local media outlets. The EAS system may be reactivated if the emergency situation escalates and life-saving instructions to the affected population must be updated immediately.

E. Local Authorized Officials

In accordance with the Texas Disaster Act, the Local Area Plan can be activated at the request of:

1. The Mayor or Emergency Management Coordinator of any incorporated city within the San Antonio Operational Area.

2. The County Judge or Emergency Management Coordinator of any county or unincorporated area within the San Antonio Operational Area.

3. The Commander of any local military base.

4. The National Weather Service located in New Braunfels.

5. The D.E.M. Disaster District Chairman

Other city or county departments or state agencies should route their request for local EAS activation through the local Office of Emergency Management of the affected city or county.

Overnight, weekends and holidays when the city/county administrative and emergency management offices are closed, local EAS activation may be requested through the 24-hour police or fire dispatch center if so authorized by their city or county office of emergency management.

F. Multiple Jurisdictions

If an emergency impacts multiple jurisdictions in the San Antonio Operation Area, the decision to activate the Local EAS must be coordinated between all of the impacted jurisdictions. This will allow a single standardized message to be relayed to the affected population. Each jurisdiction located in the San Antonio Operational Area must develop and distribute local procedures to appropriate public officials. It is important that public officials understand the use of the EAS and use it only when it is the most appropriate method of getting initial lifesaving information to the public.

VII. ACTIVATION PROCEDURES

A. Procedures for Designated Officials

Emergency Management Personnel with EAS authorization must follow the procedures outlined below once they have determined that a situation qualifies for local EAS activation. Emergency information must be very clear and concise. Designated officials should use the appropriate form in Appendix B to organize the information.

1. Request activation of EAS through the LP-1, WOAI-AM 1200.

2. In the event that it is not possible to reach WOAI-AM 1200, request activation through the LP-2, KKYX-AM 680.

3. Activation may also be requested through the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels to trigger NOAA weather radios.

Important Note: Local Officials should not request EAS activation for severe weather warnings through WOAI-AM 1200 or KKYX-AM 680. Any weather related concerns should be directed to the National Weather Service.

4. Designated officials must fax the appropriate form from Appendix B or Appendix D to the LP-1 or LP-2.

5. The originating officials must follow-up the fax transmission with a telephone call to the LP-1 or LP-2 to confirm delivery.

6. Designated officials and personnel at the Local Primary stations must follow the Authentication Procedures outlined in Appendix C.

7. Upon Authentication, the designated officials and Local Primary station personnel must determine the transmission details. The maximum length of any message should not exceed 90-Seconds. Some EAS Decoders will automatically reset after two minutes and cut off the message.

8. If necessary, maintain an open line of communication.

9. For a unique emergency not involving the entire San Antonio Operational Area, authorities may request EAS activation through the cable system and broadcast stations serving only the affected area.

B. Procedures for Broadcast and Cable System Personnel

1. Upon receipt of a request to activate the local EAS from appropriate authority; (verify authenticity through procedures outlined in Appendix C). personnel at the Local Primary station utilize the following format:

a. Interrupt normal programming

b. Optional Announcement:

“We interrupt our programming to activate the San Antonio Emergency Alert System. Important information will follow.”

c. One-second pause (no audio).

d. Send EAS Header Code three times (the required amount to trip EAS decoders) and incorporate the county FIPS code(s) and Event Codes following the format in Appendix A.

Important Note: When relaying EAS messages for State and Local emergencies, broadcasters and cable operators have the option of transmitting only the EAS header and EOM codes without the Attention Signal and emergency message. This is enables EAS coded message to be quickly relayed through areas unaffected by the emergency.

2. All other broadcast stations and cable systems are monitoring key sources via EAS equipment and will be alerted by the header codes and attention signal. Each station and cable system upon receipt of the signal will, at the discretion of management, perform the same procedures as in the Step 1 above by transmitting the emergency message from the LP-1 or LP-2. Broadcast stations and cable systems using automatic interrupt of programming should receive the EOM codes before retransmitting State or Local level EAS messages. This can prevent downstream locations from missing parts of the EAS message.

3. Appropriate notations should be made on the station logs and cable system records. A very brief summary may be sent to the FCC for informational purposes only.

VIII. TESTS

The following requirements regarding Required Weekly Tests (RWT) and Required Monthly Tests (RMT) apply to all cable systems and broadcasters, “PN” as well as “NN” stations. Stations and cable systems that have elected not to participate in local EAS alerts are required to rebroadcast the RMT.

There are two exceptions to the rules. Class “D” FM and LPTV stations are not required to have an EAS Encoder. They are however, required to have an EAS Decoder. Such stations are exempt from running the weekly digital code RWT test. The same stations must retransmit the RMT, as outlined in this section, minus the EAS Header Codes and Attention Signal. In addition, LPTV stations must present all EAS information visually, the same requirement as all other TV stations. The second exception is FM translator and TV translator stations, which are not required to have any EAS equipment.

A. Required Weekly Test (RWT)

1. Transmission: All broadcasters and cable operators must transmit an RWT once each week at random days and times except for the week of the RMT test. There are no time-of-day restrictions.

2. Reception: All broadcasters and cable operators receiving a RWT from one of their monitored sources and must log receipt of the test. No further action is required.

B. Format of the Required Weekly Test (RWT)

Use of any audio test message is optional, but must air before or after all digital codes.

1. Stop regular programming.

2. One-second pause (no audio)

3. Send EAS Header Code (with RWT event code) three times

4. One-second pause

5. Send EAS End-of-Message Code three times

6. One-second pause

7. Read the optional Audio Test Message:

“This is a test of the Emergency Alert System. In the event of an emergency, this system would bring you important information. This test is now concluded.”

8. Resume normal programming

C. Required Monthly Test (RMT)

All broadcast stations and cable systems (including those that have elected not to participate in State or Local EAS messages) must log and re-broadcast the Required Monthly Test each month.

Statewide tests of the Texas Emergency Alert System are conducted during the first full week of each month (the week including the first Sunday in any given month). The Texas State Emergency Communications Committee will coordinate planning with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management to initiate the Required Monthly Test by contacting the two Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations in Texas, KTRH-AM 740 in Houston and WBAP-AM 820 in Fort Worth. The date and time of the Required Monthly Test will vary each month and be chosen by the Chief Engineers of the PEP stations.

Upon receipt of the Required Monthly Test, all other broadcasters and cable operators must log receipt of the test and re-transmit the Required Monthly Test within one hour, including the EAS Header Codes, Attention Signal, and the Audio Test Message transmitted or re-broadcast by one of the Local Primary sources they monitor.

Broadcasters and cable systems are assigned to monitor a National Weather Service station and a local primary station where possible and/or a State Relay entity.

Television stations and cable operators must provide both audio and video versions of the Required Monthly Test on all programmed channels to ensure EAS messages are accessible to all viewers, especially those with hearing disabilities.

Television stations and cable systems are required to provide either a full-screen text summary or video crawl of the test message. The video message shall identify the Originator (EAS), Event (RMT), Location (all San Antonio Area county codes listed in Appendix A), and the valid time period of the message (+0100) as provided in the EAS Header of the message; the video message should also contain a text summary of the Audio Test Message.

Any video crawl must be displayed at the top of the screen or another location in order to prevent interference with any closed captioning system or character-generated supers. Spanish-language television stations can display its text summary or video crawl in either Spanish or English.

Radio stations licensed for daytime-only operations that receive a Required Monthly Test at night must re-transmit the Required Monthly Test within five (5) minutes of the station’s sign-on.

Broadcast and cable management should impress on their staff that re-broadcast of the Required Monthly Test is not an option and cannot be replaced by the station or cable system conducting its own monthly test. Failure to re-broadcast the Required Monthly Test within one hour is a FCC violation. The Texas State Emergency Communications Committee has adopted a five (5) minute rebroadcast requirement as part of the Texas EAS Plan.

D. Format of the Required Monthly Test (RMT)

1. Stop regular programming

2. Optional intro:

“This is a test of the Texas Emergency Alert System.”

3. One-second pause

4. Send EAS Header Code (with RMT event code) three times

5. One-second pause

6. Send eight-second EAS Attention Signal (853 and 960 Hz)

7. Read (or re-broadcast) the required Audio Test Message:

“This is a Required Monthly Test of the Texas Emergency Alert System. In the event of an emergency, this system would bring you important information. This test is now concluded.”

8. One-second pause

9. Send EAS End-of-Message Code three times

10. One-second pause

11. Resume normal programming

IX. LOCAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

The San Antonio Area Local Emergency Communications Committee (LECC) will exist to maintain the EAS Local Area plan and review the plan’s operation. The committee will examine all activations (that do not originate from the National Weather Service) to determine if the request met the criterion set forth in this plan and the response from the broadcast and cable industry. The information gathered by the LECC will be used to make recommendations and further improve the operation of the plan.

A. Membership

Membership is voluntary and shall be open to San Antonio area representatives of participating radio and television stations, participating cable system operators, city and county offices of emergency management, the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management, the New Braunfels Office of the National Weather Service, and any other membership category approved by the LECC.

Membership is also available to San Antonio area representatives of other services regulated by the FCC that may voluntarily participate in EAS, including but not limited to, wireless cable systems, direct satellite broadcast systems, digital paging services, telephone and cellular carriers, Internet Service Providers, Open Video Systems, Local Multipoint Distribution Services, Satellite Master Antenna Television systems, and other digital technology systems.

Requests for membership must be approved by the LECC, and then be submitted to the Texas State Emergency Communications Committee, which in turn will submit nominations to the Federal Communications Commission.

B. Advisory Group

The LECC will include an Advisory Group to monitor usage and formulate recommendations to the full LECC membership. Each of the following organizations will have one seat in the Advisory Committee. It is the responsibility of each organization to designate their representative.

1. The LP-1 Local Primary Station

2. The LP-2 Local Primary Station

3. The LP-S Local Primary Station (When Added to the Plan)

4. One San Antonio Television with a News Department

5. The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE)

6. The San Antonio Emergency Operations Center

7. South Central Emergency Managers Association (SCEMA)

8. The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

9. Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG)

10. The National Weather Service

11. Time Warner Cable

12. One Cable System Outside of Bexar County

C. LECC Chairman

By majority vote, the Advisory Committee will select an LECC Chairperson to serve a two-year term. The LECC Chairman is responsible for the following items:

1. Schedule and conduct two annual meetings and other meetings as necessary.

2. Organize a meeting of the Advisory Committee following each EAS activation that does not originate from the National Weather Service.

3. Bring all proposed changes to the full committee for consideration.

4. Issue updated Authentication Code Lists.

5. Coordinate training sessions for participants in the San Antonio Local Area Plan to explain criteria EAS activation and procedures for implementation.

6. Appoint subcommittees as necessary.

D. LECC Meetings

The Advisory Committee shall meet in the first two weeks of March. A general meeting of the entire LECC membership shall meet in the first two weeks of October. Additional meetings will be scheduled as necessary.

E. Adoption or Amendment of Plan

Proposed changes to the San Antonio EAS Local Plan must be submitted in writing to the LECC Chairperson for consideration at the next scheduled meeting. Proposed changes require approval by a majority vote of the LECC members in attendance.

Any approved amendment to the Local Area Plan by LECC must be submitted for approval to the Texas State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) and the Federal Communi-cations Commission before the changes become operational.

APPENDIX A: EAS PROTOCOLS AND EVENT CODES

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) utilizes a digital Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) protocol adopted by the FCC and the National Weather Service. All EAS audio messages must be preceded by a Header Code of high-speed digital data identifying the:

1. Originator of the message (such as Weather Service or civil authority)

4. The valid time period of the message (in 15 or 30 minute increments)

5. Date and time the message was issued

This digital information can be received, stored, and displayed on EAS decoders, computers, cellular phones, pagers, video crawl and closed captioning systems, and other digital receiving equipment. All broadcasters and cable operators are required to install equipment necessary to encode/decode EAS messages using the SAME protocol.

CIV = Civil authorities (city, county, or state office of emergency management)

PEP = Primary Entry Point System

WXR = National Weather Service

REQUIRED NATIONAL EAS EVENT CODES (EEE):

(All EAS Decoders must activate and relay the following four codes)

EAN = Emergency Action Notification (National Alert)

EAT = Emergency Action Termination (National Alert)

RMT = Required Monthly Test (State or Local)

RWT = Required Weekly Test (Local)

RECOMMENDED LOCAL EAS EVENT CODES (EEE):

The San Antonio Local Plan recommends that area broadcast stations and cable systems program their EAS Decoders to activate and relay the following Event Codes.

The following four event codes will originate from the New Braunfels office of the National Weather Service.

FFW = Flash Flood Warning

FLW = Flood Warning

SVR = Severe Thunderstorm Warning

TOR = Tornado Warning

The following eight event codes will be issued at the discretion of city or county emergency management personnel.

CEM = Civil Emergency Message

Civil Disturbances, Public Health Emergencies, Terrorist Attacks

EVI = Evacuation Immediate

A Widespread and/or Immediate Evacuation

FRW = Fire Warning

A Widespread or Large Wild Fire

HMW = Hazardous Material Warning

A Situation Involving Hazardous Materials that are NOT Radioactive

LAE = Local Area Emergency

A Widespread Power Outage

RHW = Radiological Hazard Warning

A Situation Involving Radioactive Materials

SPW = Shelter in Place Warning

A Situation Where Emergency Management Determines That It Is Safer For

The Public To Remain Inside Instead Of Conducting An Evacuation

TOE = 911 Telephone Outage Emergency

Failure of the 911 System

The following event code will be issued at the discretion of authorized law enforcement personnel.

CAE = Child Abduction Emergency

To BeUtilized duringAmber Alerts

LOCATION CODES (PSSCCC):

The location code uses the 6-digit Federal Information Processing System (FIPS) code to indicate the specific geographic area affected by the Local EAS Message.

The first character in the PSSCCC string is called the P code. The P code is presently “0” but is reserved for later use to identify portions of a specific county.

The SS refers to the two-digit state code. The state of Texas is assigned 48.

The CCC refers to the county code. For example, Bexar county is assigned 029. The complete string for Bexar county is 048029.

Here are the location codes for all counties in the San Antonio Operational Area.

Atascosa 048013 Karnes 048255

Bandera 048019 Kendall 048259

Bexar 048029 Kerr 048265

Comal 048091 Medina 048325

Dimmit 048127 Real 048385

Frio 048163 Uvalde 048463

Gonzales 048177 Wilson 048493

Guadalupe 048187 Zavala 048507

TIME CODES (+TTTT)

This code indicates the valid time period of a message in 15-minute increments up to one hour, and then in 30-minute increments after one hour (i.e., +0015, +0030, +0045, +0100, +0130, +2000). For events (such as hazardous materials incidents) where the duration of the emergency cannot be estimated, the initial time code should be two hours (+0200); the EAS message can be cancelled earlier or extended later if needed.

DATE CODE (JJJHHMM)

This is the day in Julian Calendar Days (JJJ) of the year and the time in hours and minutes (HHMM) when the message was initially released by the Originator using 24-hour Universal Coordinated Time (UTC). The EAS encoder automatically inserts these codes.

IDENTIFICATION CODE (LLLLLLLL)

This is the call sign or other identification (up to 8 characters) of the broadcast station cable system, or National Weather Service office transmitting or re-broadcasting the message. The EAS encoder automatically inserts these codes.

APPENDIX B-1: ACTIVATION MESSAGE PROCEDURES & SCRIPT

CIVIL EMERGENCIES

PROCEDURES:

1. Complete the script. All blanks must be filled out. Limit message to 90-seconds max.

2. Fax a copy of the completed script to WOAI-AM 1200 at 210-734-6464.

The ____(city or county)_____ Office of Emergency Management requests activation of the

Emergency Alert System to broadcast a Civil Emergency Message in effect for a portion of

_____(county)_____ until ___(time)_____ a.m./p.m. due to a _____(type of incident)_____

located at _____(name and/or street location)_____ in _____(city or county)_____.

As a safety precaution, we recommend all persons within _____ mile(s) of this location between

_____(street)_____ on the north, _____(street)_____ on the south, _____(street)_____ on the

east, and _____(street)_____ on the west to:

SHELTER IN PLACE until the release is stopped and fumes have dissipated. This means you should go inside the nearest building or vehicle, close all doors and windows, and turn off any air conditioning or heating systems that might draw in outside air. Stay off the telephone to keep phone lines open for emergency use.

EVACUATE and stay clear of the area by heading cross-wind toward the

_____(safe directions or shelter location)_____.

(If needed, add any other information or special instructions here.)

APPENDIX B-4: CANCELLATION MESSAGE PROCEDURES & SCRIPT

FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RELEASE

PROCEDURES:

1. When the condition has dissipated, complete the script. All blanks must be filled out. Limit message to 90-seconds max.

2. Fax a copy of the completed script to WOAI-AM 1200 at 210-734-6464.

The ____(city or county)_____ Office of Emergency Management requests activation of the

Emergency Alert System to report that the Civil Emergency Message in effect for a portion of

_____(county)_____ has been cancelled as of ___(time)_____ a.m./p.m.

The _____(type of incident)_____ located at _____(name and/or street location)_____ in

_____(city or county)_____ is now under control and no longer poses any threat to the area.

The earlier recommendation to SHELTER IN PLACE has been cancelled. Instead, persons who sheltered-in-place should now open all doors and windows, and turn on their air conditioning or heating systems in order to air out the building before returning inside and resuming normal activities.

The earlier recommendation to EVACUATE the area has been cancelled. Instead, persons who evacuated the area can now safely return to the area and resume normal activities. Evacuees should be prepared to show proper identification to local law enforcement to gain admission to the area.

(If needed, add any other information or special instructions here.)

APPENDIX B-5: ACTIVATION MESSAGE PROCEDURES & SCRIPT

FOR FLOOD EVACUATION

PROCEDURES:

1. Complete the script. All blanks must be filled out. Limit message to 90-seconds max.

2. Fax a copy of the completed script to WOAI-AM 1200 AT 210-734-6464.

The ____(city or county)_____ Office of Emergency Management requests activation of the

Emergency Alert System to report that the Civil Emergency Message in effect for a portion of

_____(county)_____ has been cancelled as of ___(time)_____ a.m./p.m.

The threat of _____(flooding or hurricane damage)____ has now ended for the area.

The earlier recommendation to EVACUATE the area has been cancelled. Instead, persons who

evacuated the area can safely return to the area and resume normal activities.

Evacuees should be prepared to show proper identification to local law enforcement to gain

admission to the evacuated area.

(If needed, add any additional information or special instructions here.)

APPENDIX C: AUTHENTICATION PROCEDURES

1. Telephone the LP-1, LP-2, or the New Braunfels Office of the National Weather Service.

2. The caller must identify themselves in the following way:

“This is (Name/Title) of (Organization). I request Local Activation of the Emergency Alert System because of (Description of Emergency). My call back number is __________.”

3. Station personnel at the LP-1, LP-2, or NWS, must hang-up and call back on the telephone number provided on the fax.

4. Station personnel at the LP-1, LP-2, or NWS will randomly select a number between 1-20.

5. The caller must provide the corresponding code word from the current Authentication List.

6. If the caller is unable to provide a valid code word the station personnel must promptly terminate the telephone call.

7. Upon authentication, the designated officials and Local Primary Station personnel must work out the details of the requested activation.

8. When necessary both parties should keep an open line of communication.

Code Word List #1 Effective Date: October 2002

1. Juliett Zulu

2. Bravo Golf

3. Mike Romeo

4. Echo India

5. Quebec Uniform

6. Sierra Kilo

7. Romeo Tango

8. Whiskey Papa

9. India Juliett

10. Tango Lima

11. Sierra X-Ray

12. Romeo Hotel

13. November Papa

14. Echo Yankee

15. India Whiskey

16. Delta X-Ray

17. Charlie Romeo

18. Yankee Zulu

19. Victor Delta

20. Yankee Foxtrot

The Local Emergency Communications Committee must revise the Code Word List at least once annually. The list will be distributed to the LP-1, LP-2, the National Weather Service, members of the LECC and appropriate Civil Authorities. The Code Word List is not for general distribu-tion and must be kept confidential.

APPENDIX D: AMBER PLAN

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The purpose of this policy and procedure is to establish the criteria for activating the Amber Alert by law enforcement when a child is abducted. The program is a cooperative public service effort between local law enforcement, news media outlets, Amber Plan business partners, and the public.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, up to 4,600 children are abducted every year nation-wide. There are another 114,600 attempted non-family abductions. The primary motivation for the child abduction is sexual assault. Ninety percent of all abducted children are sexually assaulted. When an abduction occurs, fast action is necessary because sixty percent of the time there is typically a two-hour delay in making the initial missing child report. Seventy four percent of the abducted children are murdered within three hours of the abduction. It is essential for the public to be notified as soon as possible to help find the missing child.

The San Antonio Regional Amber Plan is based on a similar successful program created by the Association of Radio Managers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The program was named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was abducted and murdered in 1996. The Dallas Amber Plan involves 33 law enforcement agencies, 30 radio stations and 11 television stations in the Dallas metroplex.

Since July 1997, the Dallas Amber Plan has been activated 30 times; eight children have been safely recovered due to the Dallas Amber Plan. Since 1997, Amber Plans and similar missing children alerts have expanded to 21 states. In October 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched an initiative for a nationwide Amber Plan.

The San Antonio Local Emergency Communications Committee (LECC) administers the San Antonio Regional Amber Plan. The LECC is appointed by the Federal Communications Commission to develop and implement the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for a 16-county region of South Texas.

WOAI-AM 1200 and KKYX-AM 680 originate and broadcast the EAS activation in the San Antonio Operational area. Other radio, television, and cable systems can interrupt their normal programming to voluntarily re-broadcast the EAS local activations as a news/weather bulletin or character-generated “crawl” at the top or bottom of the television screen.

Participating media outlets would interrupt their normal programming and broadcast the Amber Alert at least twice an hour for up to twelve hours. The Amber Alert message encourages the public to look for the missing child or suspect, but take no action themselves. Instead anyone who thinks they saw the child or suspect should immediately call the law enforcement agency number included in the Amber Alert. Once the child is recovered, an Amber Update would be similarly distributed to law enforcement agencies and media outlets to cancel the alert. The Amber Plan Subcommittee, composed of representatives of participating media outlets and law enforcement agencies, will review every Amber Alert Activation within seven days.

B. BENEFITS OF “EAS-BASED” AMBER P LAN

1. Every radio/TV/Cable system will receive the information at the same time. 2. No additional expense or re-programming of EAS receiver. 3. Stations have the option of retransmitting the audio that is received when the EAS

is activated, or information can be re-voiced by station personnel.

4. With current weekly EAS tests, control room operators are already aware of the system, and use it regularly.

C. ACTIVATION CRITERIA

All of the following five conditions must be met in order to quality for a local AMBER ALERT:

1. The missing child must be 17 years of age or younger.

2. The investigating law enforcement agency believes that the child has been abducted, that is, unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian.

3. There is reason to believe that the victim is in immediate danger or serious bodily harm or death.

4. It is confirmed that an investigation has taken place that verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative explanations for the missing child.

5. There is sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, or vehicle used in the abduction.

D. NON QUALIFYING SITUATIONS

Circumstances where an AMBER Alert WOULD NOT be activated:

1. A child is missing and law enforcement has no evidence of foul play.

2. A child runs away from home.

3. A child is missing as a result of a custody dispute and the child is not considered to be at risk of bodily harm or death.

4. An adult is missing.

5. Authorities are looking for wanted criminals who are bank robbers or alleged murder suspects in adult crimes.

If a missing child does not meet the activation criteria for an AMBER Alert, the investigating law enforcement agency can still alert the media through standard news procedures by sending a press release or alerting the media by telephone. The stations can then determine whether or not to air the incident in their regular newscasts.

E. POLICE PROCEDURES

Upon confirmation of a child abduction:

1. Determine and prepare information for public distribution. The information should be written in clearly understood terms, not in police "shorthand".

2. Designate a department contact for the Local Primary stations. Include the name and telephone number on the standardized form.

3. Fax the document to WOAI-AM 1200 and call to confirm delivery.

4. The Local Primary station will immediately call back to the originating department to confirm the information. Upon confirmation, the Local Primary station will immediately distribute the information to the participating stations and cable systems via the Emergency Alert System.

5. Subsequent updates from the originating department should be provided as events warrant.

6. Upon closure of the child abduction case, a final bulletin should be distributed from the Local Primary Station.

F. BROADCASTER AND CABLE SYSTEM PROCEDURES

Here is how the Amber - EAS Activation Procedure works in San Antonio:

1. A fax is transmitted by the investigating law enforcement agency to WOAI-AM, (the LP-1 station serving the San Antonio area). If it is not possible to reach WOAI-AM 1200, KKYX-AM 680 (the LP-2 station serving the San Antonio area) is the alternate contact.

2. WOAI and KKYX will activate EAS to transmit Amber Activation. The Event Code is CEM. (Until all stations are capable of receiving CAE). All participat-ing broadcast stations in cable systems have programmed their Decoders to receive the alerts. All broadcast stations and cable systems in the San Antonio area monitor WOAI-AM 1200 and KKYX-AM 680 on the EAS Decoders.

3. After transmission of the digital data bursts that trigger your receiver, WOAI-AM 1200 and KKYX-AM 680 will transmit the Amber Tone, followed by the text message from the police agency. There will be no reference to WOAI-AM 1200 or KKYX-AM 680 in the Amber activation.

4. Following transmission of the message, the digital data bursts to terminate the message will be transmitted. At that point, the audio message from WOAI-AM 1200 or KKYX-AM 680 is stored in the EAS Decoder. Stations then have an option of either retransmitting the audio or transcribing the message to originate their own broadcast.

5. As stated above, this procedure gives the receiving stations complete flexibility to either re-transmit the audio received with the EAS activation or re-voice the message with the receiving station personnel.

APPENDIX E: CABLE OVERRIDE

To help prevent the repetition of the same EAS messages, cable systems, wireless systems, and broadcasters may enter into a written cable override agreement. This agreement, once executed, between the cable systems and participating broadcast stations will direct the cable system to omit the broadcast station cable channel from any and all emergency messages.

To qualify for a cable override agreement, the local broadcast station must meet the following requirements:

1. The ability to originate live news programming from a studio facility.

2. The station must have direct access to weather equipment at the studio facility to track severe local weather conditions.

3. The ability to generate and broadcast video crawls over network or local program-ming to advise the public of weather conditions or other emergency situations.

4. The station’s master control center is staffed at all times when the station is on the air.

5. The General Manager of the station shall certify the above conditions to each cable system that retransmits their signal to exempt the station from cable system equipment placing video crawls over the programming of the broadcast station.

APPENDIX F: GLOSSARY

EAN (Emergency Action Notification) – A notice to all broadcast stations, subject cable systems, participating industry entities, and to the general public that the EAS has been activated for a national emergency.

EAT (Emergency Action Termination) – A notice to all broadcast stations, subject cable systems, participating industry entities, and to the general public that the EAN has terminated.

EAS (Emergency Alert System) – A system for the rapid dissemination of emergency information through radio stations, television stations and cable systems.

EAS Decoder – A receiving device that monitors two assigned sources for incoming emergency messages. The decoder can be programmed with filters to activate only for specific emergencies in designated geographic areas.

EOM – End of Message; A character string comprised of four ASCII “N” characters broadcast three times at the tail of the EAS message as a termination signal for EAS Decoders.

EAS Header – A digitally coded character string that is broadcast three at the beginning of an EAS Alert. The header contains codes that identify the originator, the event type, the affect locations, the duration of the emergency event, the time and date of transmission, and an ID of the sending station.

LP (Local Primary) – A source of EAS Local Area messages. An LP source is responsible for coordinating the carriage of common emergency messages from sources such as the National Weather Service or local emergency management offices.

NIC (National Information Center) – Messages received from national networks that are not broadcast at the time of original transmission must be recorded locally by LP sources for transmission at the earliest opportunity.

NN (Non-participating National) – Stations that have elected not to participate in the National level EAS and hold an authorization letter to that effect. Upon activation of the national level EAS, NN sources are required to broadcast the EAS codes, Attention Signal, the sign-off announcement in the EAS Operating Handbook and then remove their signal from the air. After the sign-off announcement, NN stations must monitor for the Emergency Action Termination message.

APPENDIX E: GLOSSARY

NP (National Primary) – A source of EAS Presidential messages.

NWS – Acronym for National Weather Service

Originator – Describes who originally activated the EAS. Included are Broadcast or Cable, Civil Authorities, the National Weather Service, a Primary Entry Point Station, or the national level Emergency Action Notification Network.

PN (Participating National) – Stations that transmit EAS National, State or Local Area messages. The EAS transmissions of PN sources are intended for direct public reception.

RMT (Required Monthly Test) – A test initiated by the LP-1 or LP-2 stations during the first full week of the month. All broadcasters and cable operators must retransmit the RMT within 15 minutes of receiving the test.

RWT (Required Weekly Test) – A weekly system test that must be transmitted and received by all broadcasters and cable operators. The RWT is only required on the weeks without an RMT.

SP (State Primary) – A source of EAS State messages. These messages can originate from the Governor or a designated representative in the State Emergency Operating Center (EOC) or State Capital. Messages are sent via the State Relay Network.

SR (State Relay) – A relay source of state EAS messages. It is part of the State Relay Network and relays National and State common emergency messages into Local Areas.

State Relay Network – A network composed of State Relay (SR) sources, leased common carrier communication facilities or any other available communication facilities. The network distributes State EAS messages originated by the Governor or designated officials.

APPENDIX G: SAN ANTONIO LOCAL PLAN PARTICIPANTS

RADIO STATIONS: TELEVISION STATIONS:

WOAI-AM 1200 (LP-1) KBEJ-TV Channel 2

KKYX-AM 680 (LP-2) WOAI-TV Channel 4

KTSA-AM 550 KENS-TV Channel 5

KSLR-AM 630 KLRN-TV Channel 9

KTKR-AM 760 KSAT Channel 12

KSJL-AM 810 KHCE-TV Channel 23

KONO-AM 860 KPXL-TV Channel 26

KLUP-AM 930 KABB-TV Channel 29

KENS-AM 1160 KRRT Channel 35

KXTN-AM 1310 KWEX-TV Channel 41

KCOR-AM 1350 KVDA-TV Channel 60

KGNB-AM 1420

KPAC-FM 88.3 CABLE SYSTEMS:

KSTX-FM 89.1 Time Warner Cable – San Antonio

KSYM-FM 90.1

KTXI-FM 90.1

KNBT-FM 92.1

KSJL-FM 92.5

KCOR-FM 95.1

KXXM-FM 96.1 COUNTIES:

KAJA-FM 97.3 Bandera

KBBT-FM 98.5 Bexar

KISS-FM 99.5 Comal

KCYY-FM 100.3 Kerr

KONO-FM 101.1 Wilson

KQXT-FM 101.9

KTFM 102.7 CITIES:

KZEP-FM 104.5 San Antonio

KSMG-FM 105.3 Bulverde

KCJZ-FM 106.7 Garden Ridge

KXTN-FM 107.5 Live Oak

New Braunfels

APPENDIX H: ACCEPTANCE PAGE

This plan is coordinated with and distributed to all broadcasters, cable systems, and participating emergency services officials for the counties and cities listed in Appendix G.